


Unplanned Declaration

by Brumeier



Series: The Only Gay Son [4]
Category: The Trixie Belden Mysteries - Julie Campbell Tatham & Kathryn Kenny
Genre: Co-workers, Declarations Of Love, Established Relationship, Friendship, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 12:23:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18873145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: Mart had been exposed to his fair share of homophobia through the years, but one of the benefits of having lived so long in the closet was that none of it had been directed at him specifically. Until now. But his supportive co-workers and friends help him stand up for himself, and he says some things evenhewasn't expecting.





	Unplanned Declaration

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vanillafluffy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanillafluffy/gifts).



Mart had been exposed to his fair share of homophobia through the years, but one of the benefits of having lived so long in the closet was that none of it had been directed at him specifically. Until now.

“I didn’t sign up for Brokeback Mountain!” the guest complained to Bonnie, who ran the Guest Services desk at the main house.

He’d drawn quite a crowd, guests and employees alike, and Mart wished the floor would open up and swallow him whole. He was mortified, not to mention unaccountably ashamed. His face was so hot he almost welcomed the chance to spontaneously burst into flame.

“Sir, if you’ll please calm down –”

“Don’t tell me to calm down! I paid a fortune for this trip, which was supposed to be about riding horses, not watching two men suck face!”

Mart’s heart was pounding. He’d given Dan a quick kiss before they’d parted ways. How was he supposed to know they’d been seen? Most of the people who worked the ranch knew he was gay, of course, but it wasn’t like he announced himself to the guests. His private life was private. _Was_ being the operative word.

“I demand a refund!”

Shit. A refund? Mart was sure he was going to lose his job. They hadn’t hired him on as assistant manager to drive the paying guests away.

Bonnie’s face was getting red, too, but for different reasons than Mart’s. “I’ll be happy to –”

“How can you employ people like that? There’s kids here!” 

And then Clarence appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, looking like the quintessential weathered old cowboy in dusty jeans. “You weren’t thinkin’ of them kids when you were gropin’ up on your wife. Ain’t no-one wanted to see that, but they just let you be.”

Mart was pretty sure he was having an out-of-body experience. But Clarence was right. No-one ever complained about seeing the straights kissing or hugging up on each other.

“That’s right,” said Allie, who worked in the restaurant. “You’ve been rude and inappropriate since you’ve been here. Ever heard of leaving a tip?”

“Mr. Belden is a fine man,” Bonnie added. “He’s professional, hard-working, and more than entitled to kiss his boyfriend on his own time.”

Mart inexplicably found himself near tears.

“He’s a pervert!” the guest insisted.

“It’s 2019, dude,” one of the young ranch hands said, thumbs hooked through his belt loops. “Maybe you should get with the program.”

“Yeah!” The shout came from another guest. “I’m here with my wife! Lesbians can like horses, too!” She kissed the woman standing next to her.

“I’m happy to issue you a refund,” Bonnie said. “And to also ban you from any future visits to the ranch. Spread the word to your friends. We don’t need your kind around here.”

“How dare you!” The man looked on the verge of an apoplexy. 

“No. How dare _you_ ,” someone said. It took Mart a second to realize he was the one who’d spoken. “I love my boyfriend as much as you presumably love your wife. No-one gets to judge me for that. Especially not you.”

His heart was in his throat, and he was starting to think he’d be the one passing out, but Mart planted his feet and stared the guy down. The ranch was his home and he wouldn’t be driven away from it. Not by that jerk or anyone else.

The assembled crowd applauded as the man snatched his paperwork from Bonnie and stalked off. 

“Sorry for that,” Clarence said, clapping Mart on the shoulder. “Some folks can’t help being ignorant.”

“Thanks,” Mart replied a little breathlessly. 

Some of the others also came up to offer their support and congratulate him for standing up for himself. Bonnie came out from behind the counter and gave him a hug.

“Don’t pay people like that any mind, honey.”

“I’ll reimburse the ranch for the lost income,” Mart said.

Bonnie gave him a look, one eyebrow raised. “No, you will not. We reserve the right to refuse service to jackasses. That’s not on you. You go ahead and take the rest of the day off. That’s not a suggestion.”

Mart didn’t know what to say to that. Everyone dispersed, Bonnie got back to her post, and Mart turned to leave, still feeling a little shaky from the whole encounter.

Dan was leaning in the open doorway, hands in his pockets, and Mart felt his stomach twist. Had he heard everything that man had said?

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself. What’re you doing here?”

“Leslie texted me,” Dan said. “Said there was some trouble.”

He waited till Mart got closer before reeling him in for a hug. Mart unashamedly clung to him. “That sucked.”

“Yeah. That guy’s lucky I let him leave with all his face still intact. You okay?”

Mart nodded and forced himself to pull back. He was a grown man, for goodness sake. And it wasn’t like he’d gotten in a physical altercation or anything.

“Come on,” Dan said. “Let’s go home.”

They walked out hand-in-hand, and Mart took some deep breaths to try and get his equilibrium back.

“You ever have to deal with that kind of thing?” he asked Dan.

“Being an openly gay cop in Manhattan?” Dan chuckled. “Yeah. I got my fair share of it.”

Mart could well imagine that. Every day must’ve been a struggle. Cops weren’t the most open-minded people, or at least they were never portrayed that way in cop shows. He’d never really talked to Dan about his time on the force there. Maybe he should’ve.

“Did you mean what you said?” Dan asked.

“Said about what?”

“You know. The love thing.”

_The love thing?_ Mart replayed the things he’d said to that angry guest and found his face heating for the second time that day. 

“Oh. That thing. You know, in the midst of a conflict, emotions are running high and –”

Dan stopped walking and since he was still holding Mart’s hand, Mart stopped too.

“Did you mean it?”

Mart looked at Dan, _really_ looked at him. He knew every line and curve of Dan’s body. More than that, he knew what a good man Dan was. He faced the world head-on, no matter what, and his rough childhood had only served to make him the kind of loyal, honest, trustworthy person anyone would be glad to call a friend. Mart had always been a little in love with him, ever since high school.

“I meant it. I meant the hell out of it,” he said earnestly.

Dan quickly scanned the area, then pulled Mart into one of the outbuildings where they wouldn’t be seen and kissed him breathless, his hands cupping Mart’s face.

“I love you, too,” Dan murmured.

Mart lunged back in for another kiss, his stomach full of butterflies. But the good kind this time. He’d face down a thousand homophobic assholes if it meant he got to have Dan in his life.

“We better get back to your place,” Dan said. “Before I have to arrest myself for public indecency.”

It was the worst and best day of Mart’s life.

**Author's Note:**

>  **AN:** I was thinking about Mart’s journey as a gay man finally out of the closet, and I thought it might be interesting to see how he handled some negativity. Which then also turned into a spontaneous love declaration. I feel like Mart would be the first in line to stand up for someone but having all that attention on himself would just kind of freeze him in place and make him panic. Or maybe that’s just me. ::grins::


End file.
